The P-Files

Chitin closed her book and looked over the cart quietly trying to decide what she wanted. "A map and that tourists brochure for me please?" She smiled, handing over a few bits in exchange for the two items. "Thank you!" Chitin looked through the map for a moment before folding away, stuffing it into her book like a bookmark, and began giving the brochure a quick read, trying to find a good place to stay. Muttering to herself quietly as she checked the various hotels listed on the brochure.

"I have all I need right here," Dreamsmoke sighed, leaning into Clue's side. So it had started as her preventing true love from being nipped in the bud. Didn't mean it couldn't be true love itself....

Ramsus, why would I ever need to copy/paste your lines? If I want to quote you, I'll just use that function. Further more, where would I copy/paste it to and why would I go through all that extra effort?

---

Clue Seeker lit his pipe and opened up his newspaper. But before he could start to read, a sudden weight leaned into his side, almost causing him to drop his pipe in surprise. After barely managing to catch it in time before any of the lit, hot tobacco could fall on the seats and potentially start a fire, he turned his head to discover that Dreamsmoke Glitter had shifted her position and was now leaning against his left side.

"Look here, little lady." Clue Seeker started, sounding a little bit irritated, "I told you before not to jump me like that. You could have..."

Clue Seeker's voice trailed off. One look at the mare's face made him realize he wouldn't be able to win this argument. Or lack thereof. He sighed. Getting angry at one his fellow traveling compatriots would surely put a damper on the atmosphere in the cabin. So both as an understanding train passenger and a gentlepony, he let the mare go about her way. Besides, after a couple of seconds, he realized that it wasn't half as bad or irritating as he thought it would be.

'Still got the touch.' Clue Seeker thought to himself with a grin before taking a puff of his pipe and opening up his newspaper again.

((To avoid the eyestrain of trying to read really tiny text? I usually post such up in the search bar or such. *shrug*))

After she'd tucked her new map away into her tail and placed her sammich down next to her seat she reached to take the can of root beer she'd asked for. Leaning over, she lost her balance for a moment and trying to avoid dropping the can she accidentally bouncing it into the air. She reached, almost caught it, and sent it bouncing off towards Clue Seeker and Dreamsmoke, where it hit the ground and burst open, spraying its contents all over both of them. "Oh! Oh no. I'm so so so sorry!" Whisper apologized for her clumsiness in a loud clear voice (by her standards anyway, so normal speaking level for anypony else) with a wince.

Ramsus wrote:
"I should probably catch up on the news, can I borrow that when you're done Mr Mug?" she asked, shy of requesting favor of a pony she had just met.

"Hmm..oh sure."

OOC:Almost completely missed that bit.

((To avoid the eyestrain of trying to read really tiny text? I usually post such up in the search bar or such. *shrug*))

You could just, I don't know, type in a bigger font? There are other ways to convey shyness you know, other than making people schedule an appointment with their optometrist.

Anyway, your character, your choice.

---

Upon seeing Whisper accidently dropping and bouncing her can all over the cabin, Clue Seeker quickly deduced the imminent disaster about to happen. Following pursuit, he heroically placed his newspaper between the incoming root beer and Dreamsmoke Glitter and himself. A few spatters still managed to hit him but those were negligible. The newspaper, on the other hoof, would have to be buried with full honors for valiantly giving its life to protect those who purchased it. Clue Seeker looked at the incurred damage and sighed quietly, being relieved that it was the newspaper that took the brunt of the impact.

"Would you mind me borrowing your newspaper when you're done with it?" He asked Coffee Mug.

---

Or alternatively, if the attendant is still present, Clue Seeker would like to buy a second newspaper.

"Sure. You can get it after Whisper." said Coffee, his nose buried in the paper.

"Oh. Er...he can have it before me. It's my fault his is ruined afterall." she said, clearly embarrassed. "Thanks." she added almost as if she didn't want Coffee Cup to hear it.

((Hmm. Well, your local optometrist could probably use the help in this economy. And my descriptive vocabulary always ends up being a tag lacking so I felt the small font gimmick would end up better than saying the same couple of descriptions over and over. Also, for those who really want insight into things you can quote and see what sizes I use to see just how quiet she was being about any particular thing. But, if it's really that bothersome I'll stop and curse your name forever.))

Actually, my local optometrist office is doing great, on account of being the only optometrist office around for miles.

So the smaller the font, the more shy Whisper is. That's alright. It's more the coloring of grey on a white background that's being difficult. Still, I can't force you to type however you want.

---

"Thanks. I appreciate that." Clue Seeker said to Coffee Mug. Seeing that Whisper was clearly sorry for her actions, he decided not to press the issue.
With all the commotion going around, Clue Seeker only now realized that his pipe had gone out. Fetching a box of matches from his jacket pocket, he lit his pipe once more before turning to Dreamsmoke Glitter.

"You alright over there?"

---

Well, I'm off to bed. Probably be back in about 8 to 9 hours so don't go aggravating the situation too much without me, okay?

Ramsus wrote:"Oh. Er...he can have it before me. It's my fault his is ruined afterall." she said, clearly embarrassed. "Thanks." she added almost as if she didn't want Coffee Cup to hear it.

(The attendant is still there, and man guys, can you slow down just a little bit. I'm having trouble keeping up!

-I'm glad you seem to be getting into the role-playing though.)

The pony attendant saw the whole thing happen (it only took a matter of seconds) and she gasped.

"Oh, no no no!" She shook her head vigorously, pulling out a fresh newspaper. "Free of charge," she said, smiling, but Clueseeker had turned his attention on Dreamsmoke, so the attendant put the paper down next to him instead. Then she got out some towels and started cleaning up the mess. "I'll have this cleaned up in no time."

(Also, Ramsus, personally, I too would prefer if you chose a font color that was slightly easier to read. That gray really does blends into a white background.)

(Oh. For me the forum background seems light blue and I actually don't have any problems reading my gray text (that's darkgray btw, so it's not like I can make it the same color but darker) on it. Had no way of telling it'd be a problem for people. Ok, um...what color to use then? Nothing else really pops to me "this is totally Whisper" (totally Raven maybe...) so, guess I'll just switch to my default of teal.

Also, silence GMperson! I refuse to slow down! My (super shy) character will socialize as much as I (note: I, not she) want to! Mwahahaha!)

"I don't suppose I could get another root beer?" Whisper asked sheepishly. (Chitin could ask sheepishly too but, that'd probably look very different eh? =P )

Cardbo wrote:"Sure. You can get it after Whisper." said Coffee, his nose buried in the paper.

(On the subject of the news...)

While Coffee scanned the paper, the first thing that caught his attention was the front page article - THIEVES STRIKE IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, with the subheading, No end to their crime-spree in sight!

As he glanced over the table of contents, among other articles, he noticed the paper also had an obligatory article on Maredi Gras (story on pg 2), articles on a new road being built by Mighty Mike Construction (story also on pg 2), a new toy shop being opened by Mikey Likey Toys (story on pg 3), and news of how Big Mike's Novelty Goods Shoppe was expanding to three new locations throughout downtown New Orreigns (story on pg 4). There was an interview with a popular local comedian, Rubber Nose (pg 5), and a speculative piece on the identity of Theorycraft (pg 6). There was also an article on the mysteries of the Surefire Swamp (pg 8 ).

(I think Chitin is looking over the newspaper too currently. If either of you want to read a particular article in more depth, let me know).

Ramsus wrote:
"I don't suppose I could get another root beer?" Whisper asked sheepishly.

The pony attendant finished wiping up the mess, glanced up at Whisper, and shrugged. She got to her hooves and took out another root beer. As she put it in Whisper's hoof, she winked. "Believe me sister, I have those days myself sometimes. Happens to the best of us."

Replacing her towel in the dolly, the attendant looked back at Whisper, "So how you liking the trip so far? Travel often?"

Whisper smiled at the attendant's comforting words. "Thank you. A bit. This is much less crowded than I'm used to traveling." "The view is just as I remember it though." she commented wistfully. "Actually, now that I think about it, last time the train broke down and I helped with the repairs. That was pretty interesting, though it was less fun wanting to take a shower for half of the trip." she recalled and then took a sip of her root beer followed by finally taking a bite of her sammich. "Gosh. Hadn't realized how hungry I was." she thought to herself.

Chitin blinked as the root beer went flying, looking up from her brochure for a moment just in time to catch the chaos. Sitting up in her seat, she leaned a little to the side to give the newly acquired paper a quick read over Clue Seeker's shoulder. After giving the headlines a quick skim she leaned away again and thought for a moment before turning to look at the attendant. "Do you know much about New Orreigns miss?"

Coffee's going to turn to the Surefire Swamp article on page 8, but he also want to briefly scan the "Mikey" articles, because it seems that those are somehow related.

Ramsus wrote:Whisper smiled at the attendant's comforting words. "Thank you. A bit. This is much less crowded than I'm used to traveling." "The view is just as I remember it though." she commented wistfully.[color=teal] "Actually, now that I think about it, last time the train broke down and I helped with the repairs. That was pretty interesting, though it was less fun wanting to take a shower for half of the trip."

"I bet it was!" the attendant laughed innocently enough, extending a hoof, "By the way, my name's Happy Trail, and with any luck, this train will have a happy trail from here to New Orreigns. Wouldn't want you to have to take another shower, now would we?"

(And because I didn't mention it before) Happy Trail was an Earth Pony with a coat the color of sunshine, an orange mane, and eyes blue like the sky. Whisper noticed her flank had an image of a speeding train with an orange sun up above it.

But before Whisper could reply to Happy, Chitin asked, "Do you know much about New Orreigns miss?"

Happy Trail looked from Whisper to Chitin, and as she did so, something around Happy's neck gleamed in the light from the cabin window. Both had time to realize it was a beautiful diamond necklace (you both passed a Perception check) before Happy pointed at herself, smiling from ear to ear, "Oh, you mean me? I was born in New Orreigns," she puffed out her chest proudly - but then slumped a little, and her eyes took on a slightly sad cast, though her smile remained. "I've been an attendant on this train for a while now though, and things have changed in the city, as I hear."

(Want to make a perception check, DB? It might prove helpful.

-Also, Clueseeker did not notice Happy's necklace - probably because somepony was distracting him just a bit - and Coffe Mug is dead to the world. Dreamsmoke hasn't even seemed to notice Happy's existence yet, so I didn't make a roll for her.

Note: I'll make player checks every now and then if it's a party-wide check. That speeds things along a little.)

Cardbo wrote:Coffee's going to turn to the Surefire Swamp article on page 8, but he also want to briefly scan the "Mikey" articles, because it seems that those are somehow related.

While flipping to the Surefire Swamp article, Coffee skimmed the three articles on Mighty Mike Construction, Mikey Likey Toys, and Big Mike's Novelty Goods Shoppe. He noticed that all three companies seemed to be owned by the same parent company, "Labyrinth's United," which was in turn owned by a big-time businessminotaur, Big "Mighty" Mike. Each article had a short blurb on him:

The famous star of the Saturday morning action-adventure show, "Mighty Mike," Mr. Mike or "Big Mike" (as he's known to his friends), is the proud owner of dozens of businesses throughout New Orreigns, from "Big Mike's Monster Insurance Co." to his ever popular "Bull and a China Shop Shoppe." Not only rich but generous, Mr. Mike has sponsored multiple long-lasting philanthropic endeavors over the years he's been in our city, from "Mighty Mike's Coats for Kids" to "The Salvation Minotaur."

Coffee found the Surefire Swamp article on page 8 and started reading, beginning with the heading, MYSTERIES OF THE SUREFIRE...

(I'll give everypony else a bit of time to react before I continue with the newspaper).

Did you factor in our indivitual stats or was it just a plain d20 roll? (because Clue Seeker has Perception 15 so...)
Also, could you post the results of said rolls in your comments with the DC you set for it?

And while I'm waiting for Masterweaver's comment, I'd like to ask you to post the content of the following articles:
ALL OF THEM!

Because that's how Clue Seeker rolls

Also because one pony running several businesses at once seems intriguing (to say the least), crime runs rampant in New Orreigns and might as well gather all the information I can get. ^^

I'll be back in about 5 hours

((sure how do I make one? Roll a d20?))

---

Chitin smiled a little hearing her reveal where she was from. "I was hoping you could tell me about this Theorycraft? I've seen the name pop up a few times when I was learning up on New Orreigns but, that's about all I know. Anything little thing would be helpful, I'm just curious." Chitin was silent for a moment studying Happy Trails face. "And perhaps you might be willing to tell me about some of these changes, from the look on your face, it doesn't seem like they were very good ones?"

Demonu wrote:Did you factor in our indivitual stats or was it just a plain d20 roll? (because Clue Seeker has Perception 15 so...)
Also, could you post the results of said rolls in your comments with the DC you set for it?

And while I'm waiting for Masterweaver's comment, I'd like to ask you to post the content of the following articles:
ALL OF THEM!

Because that's how Clue Seeker rolls

Also because one pony running several businesses at once seems intriguing (to say the least), crime runs rampant in New Orreigns and might as well gather all the information I can get. ^^

(Ah, my bad. For some reason, I thought your Perception was a little lower. I rolled really bad for you, but yeah, you still noticed the necklace.

-And curses Demonu! First you get me scrambling around on a paint program, and now this! Unacceptable!



I'll get you some article descriptions later today. Also, I'm working on a map, but it won't be ready for a little while. You don't need it quite yet anyway though.

@Dr. B: Remember to add your skill bonus plus training bonus if it applies. I think you're total Persuasion bonus is +11, right? Roll a D20 and add that to the roll. Then tell me what you get.

Edit: I'm going to try and wait a bit for Masterweaver to post before I go on.)

(Ah, my bad. For some reason, I thought your Perception was a little lower. I rolled really bad for you, but yeah, you still noticed the necklace.

-And curses Demonu! First you get me scrambling around on a paint program, and now this! Unacceptable!

You know what you were getting yourself into.

I REGRET NOTHING!

Still waiting for Masterweaver's response...

Dr Blight wrote:((sure how do I make one? Roll a d20?))

---

Chitin smiled a little hearing Happy Trails reveal where she was from. "I was hoping you could tell me about this Theorycraft? I've seen the name pop up a few times when I was learning up on New Orreigns but, that's about all I know. Anything little thing would be helpful, I'm just curious." Chitin was silent for a moment studying Happy Trails face. "And perhaps you might be willing to tell me about some of these changes, from the look on your face, it doesn't seem like they were very good ones?"

(@Dr. B: Not a big deal, but in the future you can just note your roll in your post - just put it in parentheses so everyone knows it's OOC. That way, if anyone's following along and not playing, they know what you rolled too.

Anything for the fans, you know? (;

And Chitin got a 22 on Persuasion, if I remember correctly.)

Happy Trails blushed, suddenly noticing something very interesting on the ceiling that demanded her attention.

"Well... it's not exactly that the changes weren't good ones..." She took a deep breath, "Some were good after all - the new mayor, the new secretary, the new business Mr. Mike's brought into the city, all those nice things he's done for the ponies - the crime rate's been going down too - though you wouldn't know it with all the news about those thieves going all over the city taking what doesn't belong to them and slipping away before the police can get to them like some kind of ghosts -"

Happy had been talking 90 miles a minute, but then she paused, and looked back at Chitin. She took another deep breath, and exhaled - slowly - still smiling with her mouth but not quite with her eyes, "If you really want to know though," She added, "there have been some changes I'm not too happy with. Theorycraft, for one..." She ran a nervous hoof through her mane, "A lot of us used to think of him as a sort of hero... Well, more than that." Happy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Ever hear about that one pony... Mare-Do-Well... I think her name was?"

Happy opened her eyes and glanced out the window. They were passing through a forest now, and the sun was hidden from view. "She was a hero from Ponyville, and some ponies even called her a 'super-hero'" Happy laughed, embarrassed, but then she added, "You'd probably think I'm just a silly foal for saying this, but I guess that's what I thought he was too. I thought Theorycraft was one of the good ones, the great ones - but times have changed..."

(And I'll stop right here for the moment. If anyone wants to chime in on the conversation, feel free. I might have a little time to post something more tomorrow morning, but otherwise I won't be at the comp until late tomorrow night. Hopefully MW will have posted by then.

Don't worry Demonu, I haven't forgotten your paper articles! I just thought it would be best to wait and let you finish talking to Dreamsmoke first.)

"Some were good after all - the new mayor, the new secretary, the new business Mr. Mike's brought into the city, all those nice things he's done for the ponies - the crime rate's been going down too - though you wouldn't know it with all the news about those thieves going all over the city taking what doesn't belong to them and slipping away before the police can get to them like some kind of ghosts -"

Coffee lowers his newspaper a moment.

Hmm..I saw that was the front page article, though I haven't gotten around to reading that. Do the police think there's any pattern to the crimes? Are they stealing gems? Museum artifacts? Heavy machinery?

Happy was just about to explain more about Theorycraft, when she realized somepony else had asked her a question.

She turned to the blue unicorn. "Crimes?" She starred at him blankly for a second, then it seemed to dawn on her,
"- Oh, right." She shook her head as if to clear it, "Sorry, you mean the recent string of robberies?" Happy took a deep breath, "Well - they haven't released a lot of details as far as I know, but the thieves seem to be targeting historical artifacts and the Equestria Museum of National History was the first place they hit, but a lot of their more recent targets have been artifacts taken from private collections belonging to some of the more important ponies in the city. - Other than that, I don't really know too much about it."

Touching her necklace, Happy smiled weakly, "At least they aren't stealing jewelry. I don't know what I'd do if I lost this."

She turned back to Chitin and leaned in towards her, "Ya know though? That's not the only issue the city's been having recently." Her voice had dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, and she put one hoof to the side of her mouth, as if trying to be as secretive as possible - even though everypony could still hear her just fine. Suddenly, she looked almost on the verge of tears.

"I hear Theorycraft's wanted by pony police!"

It took a second for her to regain her composure, and then she added, "There's Mr. Mike too... He's done great things for the city, but... I don't really like him much."